Midnight Dreams
by chibi-chan the original
Summary: A vanquished evil from one world takes root in another. It's up to a loving mother to help her daughter gain enough strength to ward off the Earth's on coming doom.
1. The Ancient

rwsm Midnight Dreams 

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Them. Got it? 

Author's Notes: Italics mean dreams! ^_~ I don't think this plot has been done before... *shrugs* It's one of those weird ideas that came to me during a lunch detention. *grumble* I don't see why I have to sit in for recess just because I didn't get my B+ quiz signed... -_- 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
Chapter One: The Ancient   
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

_A figure stood shadowed in darkness. The strong aura that surrounded her seemed to make her glow faintly. She turned around slowly only to reveal her crystal blue eyes. "Hello Sage," her sorrow laced voice greeted._   
_ "Who are you?" Sage asked quietly._   
_ "I am a friend here to help the Ronin Warriors. Please remember that..." her voice echoed as she faded into nothing._

Sage's head snapped up as he heard Cye speaking. "What do you want for dinner Sage? Sage?" Sage stood up abruptly which made the chair he had been sitting on rock unsteadily.   
"I'm not hungry," he murmured as he walked out of the room. The remaining Ronins glanced at each other before turning their gaze to the doorway. 

* * * * * 

"Sleep well little one. You'll need it," a transparent figure whispered as she kissed the sleeping girl's head. The figure vanished after placing the Luna pen on Usagi's dresser. A few minutes later Usagi woke up with tears in her eyes.   
"I miss you Mama..." she murmured. Usagi wiped away the tears as she walked to her dresser. For the third time this week she had woken up early.   
'I hope this doesn't become a habit,' she thought worriedly to herself. She heard a yawn coming from a shaking ball of fur on her comforter. She laughed lightly and gently draped the covers over a shivering Luna. 

* * * * * 

Usagi thought about the day's events as she pulled on her new flannel pajamas. 'If I don't get a good nights rest, I'll fail those tests!' Usagi told herself, while thinking of what Rei would say and do if she didn't pass. She winced as she pulled the covers up to her chin. "Oh well. If I don't sleep now then I might as well kiss any chances of an A good bye," Usagi murmured while letting her heavy eyelids fall shut. 

* * * * * 

_"Where am I?" Usagi asked the swirling mist and fog._

_* * * * *_

_ "Where the hell are we?!" Kento asked for the twentieth time._   
_ "We don't know Kento!" Sage snapped._   
_ "Would you two please--" Cye was interrupted by a familiar clanking sound. All five heads snapped up to see a distant figure carrying a staff._   
_ "There's no way..." Rowen said letting his statement hang._   
_ "Hello Ronins. It's good to see you alive and well," the Ancient said nodding politely at the group._   
_ "No offense, Ancient, but you're supposed to be dead," Ryo said in a confused manner. The slight smile in the Ancient's face showed them that he was very much alive._

_* * * * *_

_ "Hello?" Usagi called out to the voices she heard. After not getting a response she began to wander towards the voices. She found five young men were the source of the noise. They were accompanied by another person. Usagi swallowed the lump in her throat as she crept up behind the silver haired figure. This person seemed so familiar. Almost too familiar._   
_ "I am here to show you my face... and to tell you who I really am," the person in the monk outfit stated._

_* * * * *_

_ "You're what?" Kento asked dumbfounded. The Ancient smiled and slowly pulled off the hat that had forever shadowed the upper part of his face._

_* * * * *_

_ Usagi blinked to make sure she was seeing things correctly. The silver haired person was holding two fingers together behind their back. Usagi bit her lower lip to keep from gasping out loud. 'That's the signal Mama and I used to help each other. Those royal banquets were _way_ too boring to stay and talk to those stuffy royal people...' Usagi thought letting herself get off course. 'Then that means... Mama!' her mind cried out._

_* * * * *_

_ The Ancient dropped the hat. Right as it was about to touch the ground, it vanished. The Ancient closed his eyes and summoned the power of the Luna pen to his (now her) hand. Queen Serenity now stood before a group of gaping teens._   
_ "My name is Queen Serenity in this world." Two curious crystal blue eyes appeared and scanned the small crowd from behind the now transformed Ancient. Queen Serenity stepped aside to show her curious daughter._   
_ "Who are they?" Usagi asked._   
_ "Who are they? That can't be the real Ancient!" Kento in disbelief._   
_ "Here's your pen back, dear," Queen Serenity said handing Usagi the Luna pen. Usagi stared at the pen._   
_ "I told Luna I didn't lose this!" The Queen let peels of laughter escape her lips. Kento grew angry because he thought he being deceived. He ran his armor orb around in the palm of his hand, waiting for the perfect time to transform. Serenity turned to the Ronins and began to tell why she had brought them there._   
_ "Ronins, I have a favor to ask of you..." Serenity started. "I'm asking you to train my daughter to use martial arts and to help her control her power." Ryo wasn't too keen with the idea of training a girl, much less a princess._   
_ "Woah, wait a second. What good would this do I mean--" Ryo started off as he stepped forward. Sage put his arm out to stop the fiery tempered young man._   
_ "I will. But in turn, I ask of you a favor," Sage said with a steady tone. Serenity nodded and looked to the rest of the Ronins._   
_ "I'll help," Cye said cheerfully._   
_ "I'm in," Rowen murmured after sizing the princess up. 'She couldn't be _that_ hard to train, right? I mean she can't be worse than Yuli was.'_   
_ Kento and Ryo didn't say anything, but Kento had pocketed his armor orb. 'Sage trusts her but...' Queen Serenity smiled._   
_ "I'll let you two sleep on it. I have to go. Usagi do make sure you've studied for your test." Usagi turned scarlet._   
_ "Yes Mama. Bye guys! I hope to see you tomorrow!" Usagi said as she started to fade away. She blinked slowly. "WAH! Mama I forgot everything I studied!!!" echoed through the dream world as the odangoed girl disappeared completely. The queen giggled lightly as she turned to the Ronins. She waved as they slowly faded away._   
_ "You may come out now."_   
_ "May I be trained too, Grandma?" The queen frowned._   
_ "I'm sorry little one, but Usagi has to be trained immediately if she's to save the world from it's on coming doom."_

_* * * * *_

Usagi bolted up straight in her bed. "I'm going to be trained? Eep! I need to review for the test!" she exclaimed as the pulled out her textbook. 

* * * * * 

"My Lord, there are no powers in this world," a shadowed figure said with a raspy voice.   
"Good. For once you have done something right, but if we run into any glitches you will be the first to be punished."   
"Yes my Lord," the figure said bowing. 

* * * * * 

Mia walked in the door to find five sleeping figures strewn about the floor. Rowen was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch. Cye had fallen asleep on the couch against Kento, who had his mouth hanging open.   
'It's a miracle any of them can sleep through this noise,' Mia thought. Her gaze shifted towards Ryo, who was sitting sideways in the midnight colored armchair. Sage, who was right next to the armchair, was in a trance.   
"Sage..." Mia whispered as she squatted next to the blonde. One blue-violet eye was seen as he slowly came out of his trance. "Hey Sage, go to bed you need some sleep ok?" Sage nodded silently, but then a thought struck him.   
"I thought you were getting groceries..." Mia grinned.   
"I went grocery shopping yesterday. And I know how you guys don't like me out late so I used that as an excuse to get out." Suddenly another thought struck him.   
"Is this a first?" Mia blushed and shook her head. "Where'd you go?"   
"Oh just the usual club hopping..." Sage's eyes bugged out, and Mia giggled. "Go to bed ok?" Mia walked up the stairs and turned the corner. Sage closed his eyes.   
"Ryo, you can stop pretending now."   
"What gave me away?" the supposed to be sleeping Ronin asked.   
"Well besides the whole armchair shaking like there was a tremor, nothing really." Ryo rolled his eyes.   
"How could she sneak out like that?! I mean she could be attacked or mugged or something..." Sage stood up and watched his babbling leader. "And who knows when the Nether realm could come back! Talpa wasn't the only one there! Remember the oth--"   
"Ryo..." Ryo paused and looked at his tired friend.   
"Yeah?"   
"Shut up," Sage muttered as he made his way up the stairs. Ryo's face held a look of mild shock and annoyance as his friend disappeared up the stairs.   
_____________________________________________________   
This is my little Ronin/Sailor fic. It's kinda slow right now but hopefully   
it'll pick up pace. Reviews, death threats, comments, criticism,   
chocolate, money, and flames maybe sent to chibichan101@home.com. 

~~ chibi-chan 


	2. Introductions

rwsm2 Midnight Dreams 

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Them. Got it? 

Author's Notes: I've been on vacation so all stories are kind of delayed. *hides* Don't hurt me! ***IMPORTANT*** And I'll be gone August 11th to um... I'll be gone for a week k? ^^() By the way Yuli's 12. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
Chapter Two: Introductions   
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Usagi sulked as she walked down the hall towards the door that led to the sakura tree she always had lunch at. She plopped down next to Makoto as Ami and Minako discussed how they did on their tests.   
"I got an 89," Minako said cheerfully. Ami applauded her friend, while Makoto offered everyone food.   
"Are you okay, Usagi?" Makoto asked after she refused the offered food.   
"No," she sighed. "Mr. Ryuho said if I don't pass the test next Monday he'll kick me out of his class," Usagi mumbled as she started eating her food at a human like pace.   
"You mean you failed the test we took today?!" Minako shouted taken by surprise. Usagi nodded.   
"But Usagi-chan you were the one who studied the most out of all of us. What happened?" Ami asked in her quiet graceful voice.   
"I didn't get a very restful sleep. And during my dreams I forgot everything I learned," Usagi grumbled. Remembering the joy of seeing her mother brought a smile to her face, but the effect it took on her test washed away the happy look. The other girls glanced at each other before returning their gazes to Usagi's dazed face.   
"Maybe you should see the nurse, Usagi," Makoto said, while pressing a hand to Usagi's head.   
"I'm fine just tired. I'll take a nap during our study session after school." Usagi grinned sleepily and packed up her half eaten lunch. 

* * * * * 

The whole table was silent as each warrior ate their lunch at their own pace. Mia was teaching ancient legends over at the university. Cye quietly set his chopsticks down and cleared his throat.   
"Ryo, Kento, have you decided whether you're helping us train the princess?" Kento's eyes bulged out of his head.   
"You mean that wasn't a dream?!" Kento shouted. Rowen frowned.   
"It _was_ a dream, but obviously it wasn't _just_ a dream if we were all in it," he said with a 'matter of fact' tone. Kento grumbled something under his breath, and got up to dish himself more ramen noodles.   
"Well, she's a princess shouldn't she have royal guards or somethin' to protect her?" Kento asked as he started on his second helping. Sage stopped eating.   
"If you were a princess would you want to have to rely on your guards all the time, or would you rather learn to defend yourself?" he asked with a sharp glint in his eye, and a slight smile on his face. Ryo, Rowen, and Cye fell into a fit of laughter at the thought of Kento being a princess.   
"Well, I'd wanna protect myself, but is it hard to fight in a dress?" he asked with a lopsided grin on his face. This time Sage and Kento joined the laughter. And the silent agreement was made. All five would help. Now to wait for the next meeting. 

* * * * * 

"How far is it?" Usagi groaned as she stumbled and nearly fell over.   
"We're here," Minako chimed. Usagi stumbled up the steps and walked into Rei's room. She ate a few of Makoto's rice balls before propping up Ami's Advanced Algebra for the Gifted book and falling asleep behind it. 

* * * * * 

_"Oh no," Usagi groaned as a familiar dense fog swirled around her delicate ankles. "I have this feeling I'm never going to get a restful nap ever again."_   
_ "Is your mother here?" Sage asked from behind her. Usagi turned around startled._   
_ "Um, I don't think so," she glancing around. "That just means we don't have to train now, thank God. You had some questions to ask Mama didn't you?" Sage nodded._

_* * * * *_

Cye was the first one to realize that his armor orb was glowing. "Huh?" he asked as he dug through his pocket. His fingertips gently grazed the top of the small glassy orb. He dropped the thick paperback book he was reading and slumped further into the armchair. 

* * * * * 

"Fetch White Blaze!" Ryo called as he threw his armor orb out, into the air. White Blaze jumped into the air and swatted the orb down to the ground. From there he carefully picked up the orb with his mouth. (A.N. White Blaze can't just catch it in his mouth or he'd choke. ^^;;) He carried the small orb over to his owner who immediately noticed it was glowing.   
"Huh? Why is it glowing?" Ryo asked as he reached for the orb. The warrior of virtue collapsed on top of his white friend. Seconds later his friend collapsed; both asleep. 

* * * * * 

_"Do you know how she could die but still come to this world?" Sage asked, slightly annoyed because he had to talk to a young 'spoiled' princess._   
_ "Hmm... How do I explain this? See if you die in one world, technically you're only dead in that world. That means you can enter any other world as a living being. Mama's died in my world and in yours so she can't come back and live in either. That's why she sent the staff and several images of herself back to you guys. Get it?" Usagi asked. Sage nodded his head. "Good 'cause I can't think of any other way to explain it," she said grinning._

_* * * * *_

Kento paused long enough, in his quest for food, to reach for his orb. He reached for a box of pocky at the same time he reached for his armor orb. The small box of pocky balanced on the edge of the shelf a few seconds before falling to the floor right next to a sleeping Kento. 

* * * * * 

Yuli walked down the silent halls. He paused in front of a door and knocked briefly before entering.   
"Class, this is Yuli, the current holder of the Jewel of Life," Mia introduced as she slid off the top of the desk. Yuli grinned and pulled the jewel, which looked more like a sea shell, over his head, so the class could get a better look. As the precious jewel dangled in mid air, it began to pulsate with a blinding hot pink light. Mia reached out for the jewel to inspect it closer. Yuli's crumpled form lay next to Mia's as the college class watched in horror. 

* * * * * 

_"Where are we Yuli?" Mia asked while glancing down at the thick fog._   
_ "I _thought _we were in your college class..." he said glancing around._   
_ "Hi! I'm Usagi!" a cheerful voice exclaimed from behind them. Both Yuli and Mia jumped in surprise. "C'mon follow me!" Usagi said as she skipped through the fog to a place with more light. Yuli and Mia glanced at each other before following her. "Hey guys I found more people!" she called out as five young guys came into view._   
_ "Wha?" Ryo started as he turned around._   
_ "Mia?!" Cye cried._   
_ "Yuli, little buddy!" Kento exclaimed._   
_ "Mama!" someone shouted before attaching them self to Usagi's leg. Usagi did a double take._   
_ "CHIBI USA?!?! What are you doing here?" she shrieked causing the guys, Mia, and Yuli to cover their ears._   
_ "Jee, I love you too," Chibi Usa said while glaring at her future mother. "Grandma let me come!" Usagi took an extremely deep breath, and let it out slowly._   
_ "All right, but you better behave!" Usagi said as sternly as she could. Chibi Usa started to laugh uncontrollably._   
_ "H-hey! Stop that tickles!!!" the eleven year old laughed. White Blaze let out a laughing roar in reply. Usagi spun around and jumped in fright before calming down. She smiled at her future daughter and the large Algerian _(A.N. I think White Blaze is Algerian... I really hope he's Algerian...)_ tiger on top of her._   
_ "You scared me for a second there, kitty!" Usagi whispered as she scratched White Blaze behind the ears. White Blaze roared and ran over to Yuli. Ryo cocked his head to the side, "Why aren't you scared of White Blaze?" Usagi blinked in confusion._   
_ "Well, I know three talking cats who can change into humans, I have been killed more than once, and am extremely happy when my dead mother visits my dreams. I don't think I should be scared..." Usagi said grinning._   
_ "You're only saying that 'cuz he didn't attack you, and you wanna look brave!" Chibi Usa hissed._   
_ "Can it brat!" Usagi growled back._   
_ "Make me!" As anticipated, a razzberry war ensued. Mia cleared her throat loudly._   
_ "Um, excuse me, but aren't you a bit young to have a daughter?" Mia asked._   
_ "Young?" Chibi Usa scoffed. "She's over a thousand years old!"_   
_ "That's it you're leaving!!!" Usagi shouted as she imagined an alarm clock over Chibi Usa's head. Chibi Usa started to fade away as she woke up. "Sorry about that she's annoying sometimes. I've got to tell her father not to spoil her so much! Um, well I'm not exactly 16... I'm part Lunarian, so I'm over a thousand years old like Chibi Usa said. But I don't get married for another thousand years." Usagi fidgeted nervously._   
_ "Are we starting your training now?" Cye asked since he was the first to regain his voice._   
_ "No, Mama's not here."_   
_ "Why are we here then?" Kento asked slightly annoyed._   
_ "Well I guess Mama made it so when I fall asleep you fall asleep." Sage leaned over and whispered something into Mia's ear._   
_ "B-bu-- How?" Mia sputtered._   
_ "Uh..." Usagi started confused, "How 'bout we start with introductions? I'm Usagi. My mama is Queen Serenity also known as the Ancient. And my daughter's name is Chibi Usa."_   
_ "I'm Sage of the Halo."_   
_ "Cye of the Torrent. Pleased to meet you."_   
_ "Rowen of Strata." Rowen nodded in recognition._   
_ "Ryo of the Wildfire."_   
_ "Ryo's our resident pyro, and I'm Kento of Hardrock. Is there any food here?" Ryo growled at Kento's first comment. Usagi grinned and turned to Mia._   
_ "Since you're the only female of the group, I'm depending on you to tell me what they're all really like!" she giggled and Mia joined in._   
_ "Sure! I'm Mia by the way. And this is Yuli," Mia said gesturing to the young boy playing with White Blaze. "Sage is the silent type until you bring him to a party. Then he's a complete flirt. Cye is very polite and a sweet guy. He cooks when I'm not around." Usagi giggled and nodded, while Cye blushed. "Rowen is the youngest besides Yuli. He's the quickest, and has an IQ of 250. Ryo's got a bad temper, but likes to goof around a lot. He's pretty protective, and that causes him to rush into traps sometimes. Then there's Kento... There's not much to say about him. He likes to eat a lot and is the strongest, physically." Usagi was almost on the floor with laughter. Sage, Kento, and Ryo looked offended, while Rowen, Cye, Yuli, and Mia joined in the contagious laughter. When Usagi recovered she explained her best friends._   
_ "You guys are almost exactly like my friends! Makoto is best at cooking and is strongest physically. Ami is the smartest with an IQ of 300." Gasps escaped everyone's' mouths while Rowen and Usagi looked around._   
_ "Why are ya gasping?" Rowen asked. After all she wasn't that much smarter than him..._   
_ "Then there's Mina, who used to be a professional model in England. She loves to flirt and almost gets as bad of grades as me... Rei... Rei yells... A lot. She gets good grades and consults the Great Fire for answers. She's a priestess but I call her pyro. Then there's me. I love food, my boyfriend, my friends, my cat, although she can be annoying. I get pretty bad grades, am tardy a lot, and love to over sleep," Usagi said finishing off the introductions. Usagi closed her eyes and imagined a plate of food in front of her. "And this is a dream world. What's here is real and true, but isn't at the same time. It's a replica basically... I think..." she said as she waved her hand through the plate of drool-worthy food. "Yup. I'm right." She grinned._   
_ "What do we do here?" Yuli asked._   
_ "This is free time we can do what ever we want!" Usagi said as she jumped up and pulled a soccer ball out of no where. Ryo eyes widened before his mouth twisted into a sinister grin._   
_ "I'm up for a game!" he declared quickly while White Blaze roared loudly and bounded in front of his master. Usagi tossed the white tiger the ball and created two goals. Mia rushed to goalie position on one end while Kento took the other. Teams were evenly split without captains. Ryo, Mia, White Blaze, and Sage versus Usagi, Kento, Cye, and Rowen, while Yuli refereed and interjected his own kicks. The game went smoothly with no goals scored until White Blaze ran in front of Usagi, who had the ball at the time. The princess shrieked as she tripped over the _extremely_ large kitten and landed at Rowen's feet._   
_ "Owies..." she whined as she got up with Rowen's help. Unfortunately Ryo had retrieved the ball from White Blaze and put the checkered ball up in the far left hand corner with expert aim. Kento grunted as he landed on his side. If he hadn't been distracted by Usagi's wail his high dive could've saved them a goal._

_* * * * *_

_ "Hey Rowen," Usagi said sheepishly from her position at his feet. Rowen grinned._   
_ "White Blaze is tricky you better be careful!" he said as he gave her a hand up._   
_ "Hmmmm..." she murmured as she put a hand to her mouth. Rowen laughed at her concentration._   
_ "You sound like you're dying instead of thinking..."_   
_ "Hey!" she shouted as the speedy blue-haired ronin took off without her. Soon the soccer game was forgotten and replaced with a game of tag._

_* * * * *_

"Rowen..." Usagi murmured in her sleep. Rei, Minako, and Makoto looked at each other before scooting closer to the sleeping girl. Usagi unconsciously slurped up some drool that was sliding down her flushed cheek. A soft, "Mmmm..." was emitted as the three girls looked at each other wide-eyed.   
"You don't think..." Minako started.   
"She wouldn't!" Rei hissed.   
"But you heard it..." Makoto whispered. Ami slowly caught on after hearing only tidbits of their conversation.   
"YOU GUYS!!!" the normally timid navy-haired girl belted out. "You know Usagi wouldn't do anything like that! She's faithful to Mamoru!" The three gossipers winced and quickly snatched up random books. Ami shook her head in mild disgust as she continued reading 'Advanced Quantum Physics'. 

* * * * * 

_Usagi's training went well considering it was all dives and counter attacks. For a good portion of the time no magic, armor, and/or weapons were used. Usagi did well against Sage, Cye, and Ryo, but Rowen and Kento were another story. Rowen's quick thinking and speed left Usagi confused until there wasn't enough time to dodge. Kento's pure strength and lop sided grin threw her off guard for some reason. Usagi slowly began to consider Kento her older brother. He never took an attack too far and always made sure she was ok before continuing the training. Ryo liked to goof around a lot with Yuli and White Blaze and Mia told her all about her new enemy. Morning slowly came and Usagi could hear her new bought bunny clock ringing._   
_ "Bye guys! I had fun! Can't wait for tomorrow night!!!" she called as she was brought into her world._

_* * * * *_

Usagi gradually woke up to find herself in an unfamiliar room. Before she could shriek, yell, or question her surroundings, a warm, worn hand clamped over her mouth.   
"Calm down, Odango-atama!" Rei hissed at her. Usagi slowly calmed down and peeled Rei's hand from her face.   
"Why am I here?" she asked looking around.   
"You fell asleep during our study session, and we couldn't wake you up. I called your mom and said that you needed extra help for an upcoming test. She brought your things over," Rei said as she pointed to her bunny clock.   
Usagi nodded, "Thanks Rei... But don't call me Odango-atama!" Rei rolled her eyes and picked up Usagi's neatly folded uniform from the door. "Pyro." Usagi added as Rei stood up. Rei scowled and threw Usagi's uniform at her. "ACK!" the future queen squawked as she tried to pry her endless skirt off her face. 

* * * * * 

"So Usagi?" Minako started casually. Usagi looked at the girls. Ami's head was bent and she was eating quietly. She hadn't looked up the entire period, while Minako, Makoto, and Usagi chattered about random things. Then what Ami hoped wouldn't be coming came.   
"Who's Rowen, Usagi?" Makoto asked while sipping her juice.   
"Yes... You seem to like dreaming about him..." Minako continued with a glint in her eye. Usagi remembered the soccer game and how the training wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.   
"Yup! He's fun!" a dense Usagi exclaimed. Ami looked up from her food wide eyed. The three girls exchanged shocked glances while Usagi returned to scarfing down food at an inhumane rate.   
"B-but Usagi..." Ami started quietly.   
"What about Mamoru-san?!?!?!" Minako nearly shrieked. Usagi turned crimson and choked on her food, and to Usagi's slight relief, Makoto started patted Usagi's back.   
"I think you should've waited till she was done eating Mina-chan..." Makoto murmured as Usagi kept coughing. 

* * * * * 

Makoto sighed as she walked out of the small market place. It had been an exhausting day. She had woken up late for the first time in months, her first set of classes went smoothly, but then there was the ordeal at lunch and her forgotten lack of food. She had managed to get to the market before it closed, but the local bus lines had stopped working by now, she was sure. She started home on foot. During the middle of her walk another forgotten thought occurred to her.   
"I have that big history final!" she murmured as she mentally kicked herself. The tall brunette slung the bags over her shoulder with hopes that they would hold until she got home. 

* * * * * 

Makoto pulled her flannel night gown over her head and tugged her beaded scrunchie out of her hair before lifting up the covers and crawling into bed. Minutes later soft snores escaped the protector's mouth as the sign of Jupiter pulsated in the darkness. 

* * * * * 

_"Where the hell am I?!" Makoto exclaimed as she looked around. After sorting her emotions the brunette caught a glimpse of her attire. "Ugh..." she muttered, disgusted. 'There is no way I'm scouting this place in this,' she thought as she picked up a piece of the lacy princess dress. After closing her eyes and donning more comfortable attire, she headed off to the direction of voices. 'This is a world of will...' she thought as she watched the thick fog dance and swirl in between her slim, yet strong fingers. "Hello?" she called out._   
_ "Good of you to make in Makoto-chan."_   
_ "Serenity-sama?!" she exclaimed as she got down on one knee. "And to what do I own the honor?" the queen frowned slightly as she pulled Makoto up by the hand._   
_ "We're closer than that there's no need to kneel. They don't." The queen gestured to the unseen crowd behind her._   
_ "Yup no need to. Right... uh... Hey what should we call you?" Kento asked as he watched his imaginary twenty yen get swiped by Yuli._   
_ "Good Lord, Yuli! That's the third time now! Do you have a second deck up your sleeve or somethin'?" Rowen asked as he too watched his imaginary yen drift out of his reach._   
_ "I don't have anything up my sleeves!" Yuli exclaimed as he stretched his sleeves out. He then proceeded to take his shoes and socks off to show there was nothing there too._   
_ "Aw, man! Put 'em back on! Put 'em back on!" Kento groaned as Yuli held up his shoes and socks. Yuli glared at Kento briefly before resuming the game. Makoto watched as a white tuft of hair peeked up into Yuli lap as the boys counted their money out to see who would raise. As soon as the white came it had disappeared. Replaced, rather, by the cards to create a royal flush. Makoto smiled sinisterly to herself as she strided over to the table. Grabbing the edges of the over sized table cloth, Makoto yanked hard until everything flew every where and a yelp, that sound more like a roar, came from underneath the table._   
_ "HEY!" Yuli shouted as he watched his money fly into the air and evaporate into nothingness._   
_ "What the hell are ya doing?" Rowen yelped as he jumped out of his seat to dodge falling objects._   
_ "Exposing a con," Makoto replied as she tapped her lime green fingernail to the glass table top. White Blaze was lying underneath cowering with his paws over his head, and numerous decks of cards scattered under the spacious table._   
_ "What about our game?!" Kento yelled at the brunette bringing his face inches away her own. Makoto blinked._   
_ "You wanted to play a cheated game?"_   
_ "Er... Kento calm down..." Ryo said as he dragged the confused brute away from Makoto. Makoto opened her mouth to say something, but a blur breezed past her and beat her to it._   
_ "Mako-chan! Glad you're here. This is Rowen!" Usagi exclaimed as she yanked Rowen over to where Makoto was._   
_ "I figured as much, Usa..." Makoto said as she watched the blonde's theatrics._   
_"Does he," Usa started as she pinched Rowen's cheeks and stretched them apart, "look like someone I'd dream about?!"_   
_ "I dunno Usa-chan... He's pretty cute. Plus you've got them here too... I wonder what the girls'll have to say!" Makoto said, waving a hand at the group._   
_ "MAKOTO!!!!!!!!!!!" Usagi shrieked, not letting go of Rowen's face._   
_ "HEY!" Rowen shouted over Usagi's wails as he got his face out of Usagi's reach. "I know I'm cute and adorable, but I'd like to stay that way. And with you stretching my face like silly putty I ain't gonna stay cute for long, ya know?" he said as he rubbed his throbbing cheeks._   
_ "Aw, poor baby," Sage said sarcastically as Rowen glared daggers at him._   
_ "Oops... Sorry Rowen..." Usagi said as she blushed. "But they said I was dreaming of you 'cause I said 'Rowen... Mmmm...' in my sleep!" she shouted as she stomped her feet and glared at Makoto._   
_ "Well, 'Rowen... Mmmm...' is kind of suggestive..." Cye murmured. Mia, Ryo, and Kento nodded in agreement._   
_ "My God! What kind of minds do you have?" Rowen exclaimed. He and Usagi were now extremely flushed._   
_ "Aw both of you can stop blushing Usagi has Mamoru and you're mine!" Makoto chirped as she winked at Rowen. The swift blue haired ronin's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he took a step back._   
_ Makoto laughed as she spoke, "Relax. I joking. You sure picked a tense bunch Usa."_   
_ "Mama brought them here," Usagi giggled. Makoto turned and nodded to the queen in approval. The queen daintily covered her mouth as she chuckled at the youths._   
_ "Why am I not cute enough for your tastes?" Makoto asked with a devilish grin. Rowen stepped closer and also let an evil smirk cover his stubborn features. Shockingly, the ronin of the air was inches taller than the princess of Jupiter, and Makoto had to look up slightly to see his eyes._   
_ "No, you just look like the kind who would try and beat one of us up," he retorted, standing tall._   
_ "Really? Maybe 'cause I can," Makoto hissed as she unleashed a lethal kick towards his head. Rowen caught her leg and held it in an iron grip as he let a punch aimed for her left cheek loose. Makoto ducked and landed a punch to his stomach. Both were out of each others way, but Rowen was left holding his stomach as Makoto sported a new bruise on her calf. As Makoto raced at Rowen, Rowen did the same, but their plans of destruction were canceled as an attack rang through everyone's ears._   
_ "Tiara! Trap them!" Usagi, now Eternal Sailor Moon, shouted. Usagi grinned as she watched the two bodies collide and fall to the ground._   
_ "Ugh! Get off of me!!!" Rowen shouted as he wriggled underneath Makoto._   
_ "Ow! Blowing my eardrum out will not help the situation!!!" she shouted back into his ear._   
_ "Ow..." Rowen groaned._   
_ "See?"_   
_ "Yah, yah..." After fifteen minutes of struggling Makoto gave up and let her head rest on his shoulder._   
_ "You know Rowen..." Makoto whispered in to his ear. Rowen glared at her through slitted eyes._   
_ "What?"_   
_ "If your breath didn't wreak as bad as it does this would be kinda nice..." she whispered before passing out._   
_ "Um hmm..." Rowen breathed out before following in suit._   
_ "Mama, how come I can't use my moon dust with out my tiara normally?" Usagi asked as she danced around Makoto and Rowen, throwing the silver dust all over them._   
_ "Because it's not supposed to be used for actions such as that," the queen said shaking her head lightly. "Honestly Usagi. You still act like your ten."_   
_ "Aw, but Queen, that's the way we like her!" Kento said as he hugged her from behind. Usagi giggled as the queen gave them the gesture to continue playing. After hours of playing, the queen gradually sent everyone home to the physical plane._

_* * * * *_

Mia groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open. She tried to push herself up, but something held her to the bed. Remembering, she carefully rolled over and snuggled closer to Cye's body.   
"Cye... Wake up... I have to make breakfast," she whispered in his ear before placing a kiss on his nose. Cye groaned softly before wrapping his arms around Mia's waist.   
"The guys arms aren't broken. They can make their own food," he said while placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Mia sighed contentedly and laid her head on Cye's shoulder.   
"Fine, but you have to call them off once they find there's no food made," she murmured as Cye kissed the top of her head. With that said the door creaked open and Kento stood holding his stomach.   
"Miiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaa where's my foooooooo-- Whoa! What did I stumble upon?!" Kento asked wide eyed. Mia groaned and slowly slid out of Cye's arms. "Did you two actually... well... Did you... you know?" Mia rolled her eyes.   
"Sleep together? Yes actually. I hope you like your waffles black because I _really_ don't want to cook," she grumbled as she walked out the door. Kento stood wide eyed and speachless.   
"You actually slept together?!" he gasped out. Cye glared through slitted at the owner of the Hardrock armor.   
"Not like that you pervert!" he shouted before hurling an over stuffed pillow at Kento.   
__________________________________________________________   
Done! ::dances around:: Haha! Done done done!!! Long long long! I'm on   
vacation again so... ^^() What's been happening to ff.net? one day it's up the   
next it's down then it's up then it's down. Annoying isn't it? Well I'm going to   
the pool now, then I'm gonna work on When the Mirror Shatters. Don't look   
at me like that! I've been working on it! 2/3s of the third chapter is done ^^v   
Ja ne!!   
~~ chibi 


	3. All Coming Together

Midnight Dreams 

By: chibi-chan 

Disclaimer: *grumbles* Does it even look like me owning them is a possibility? 

Author's Notes: I'm not exactly 100% obsessed with Ronin Warriors, so I don't know how, when, and/or where everyone met, so I'm doing my own thing as usual. ^^() This is M-chan's extremely belated Christmas present. This means fluff... LOTS of fluff. You were warned... (I put angst in for my enjoyment though :-D) ^^() Merry Christmas M-ies! Sorry for the delay. ^^ 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
Chapter Three: All Coming Together   
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"And I opened the door and--" Kento nearly jumped out of his skin as Cye's bedroom door slammed shut. The normally cheerful warrior stormed past the dining room table and headed straight to the main part of the kitchen.   
Mia rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before picking up the spatula and flipping the pancakes. To her annoyance the vote had been pancakes over waffles, but right now she really didn't care. She watched the edges of the batter bubble slightly as her mind wandered. She jumped slightly as she felt arms around her waist and a chin on her shoulder. She relaxed into the embraced as the gentle scent of the sea filled her senses.   
"You know, acting angry like that isn't very becoming..." Mia murmured as Cye slowly rocked her back and forth.   
"It kept Kento quiet," Cye whispered into her ear as he gently took the spatula from her hand and flipped the pancakes while not letting go.   
"I suppose it's all right then," she laughed as she turned and pecked Cye on the cheek. He blushed slightly before claiming Mia's lips.   
Rowen shoved open the swinging door and stalked straight to the refrigerator, ignoring the happy couple. After shifting through the refrigerator's contents, Rowen pulled out a half full carton of milk and shut the door. He opened the top and started to chug it down. He paused as he saw the couple.   
"Eh, just don't burn the pancakes..." Rowen muttered as he patted Cye's shoulder before leaving. Mia pulled back and leaned to the side to see Rowen stalk back out of the kitchen.   
Five pairs of eyes followed Rowen's sluggish form as he made his way past the dining room table. The blue haired archer paused with the milk carton moments away from his lips.   
"What?" he questioned the all too curious group.   
"So what was going on it there?!" Kento asked as he slammed his palms on the table and jumped out of his chair. Rowen shrugged lazily before replying.   
"Go look for yourself." Four humans nearly trampled one poor over grown house cat (White Blaze) as they tried to see exactly what was going on in the kitchen. The swinging door flew open as five bodies fell through the doorway in a tangled heap. Cye raised an eyebrow from his place in front of the open refrigerator while Mia ignored them and made more pancakes.   
By the time the kitchen mess was sorted out Rowen was upstairs debating whether or not to get changed.   
'Aw hell, I can barely move...' After cursing a few times he got up and changed into a pair of jeans but left his shirt off to inspect his stomach.   
'Damn. If that's a dream world then why the hell is this still here?!' he berated himself for not avoiding Makoto's blow. The large bruise he sported on his abs was the lovely gift from the ever-so-gracious Mako-chan. He could only hope the brunette was in at least half the pain he was. For being the girl she was, she sure dealt out a mean punch. After donning a thin, worn, cotton t-shirt, Rowen fell back on his bed. Grabbing a random book off of his night stand he began to read. Half way through the thirty-second chapter the bright white pages went black. 

* * * * * 

_'Annoyance doesn't even begin to describe this any more...' he thought to himself as he watched the familiar fog and mist swirl around his ankles in an endless dance._   
_ "Hello Mr. Hashiba. I'm glad you came." Rowen spun around to find himself face to face with some what of a rival. Kayura's dark blue eyes held an inner laughter that did not keep him at ease. He stepped back and frowned._   
_ "No offense, but exactly _what _are you doing here?" Kayura glared slightly at the gifted archer._   
_ "Queen Serenity has sent me here to tell you that--" Kayura smiled slowly as something began to wake Rowen up._   
_ "Just remember not to try and kill anyone!" rang through his ears as he blinked a few times._

* * * * * 

Rowen gingerly touched his stomach, which hurt a lot less now, as he walked down the hallway to the stairs.   
'Not to kill anyone?' he asked himself repeatedly. The morning had flown by and lunch was over by now the genius observed in a not-too-thrilled manner. After grabbing a sandwich, he headed out to find Mia. If anyone would know anything about this she would. After roaming the summer house and not finding the young woman, Rowen went outside to check the lake. Cye loved the lake. Mia loved Cye. Rowen really hoped Cye loved Mia. If not... Well... Cye would be doomed then, and the food would probably end up being cooked by Kento... Rowen shuddered at this thought. 

* * * * * 

It was near five o' clock now and Rowen hadn't seen Cye or Mia. Sage told him they left a while ago, Kento said they wouldn't be back till late, and Ryo said Mia was probably club hopping and she just dropped Cye off some where. Rowen rolled his eyes.   
'Mia club hopping without Cye... Not likely.' Taking the occasion as a hopeless case, he decided to go up to 'his' star gazing hill. It was a cliff rather than a hill, but more or less it's name was 'Strata's Star Gazing Hill'. The cliff was quite a bit away from the house, but most of the places where the guys were. To get to his place, Rowen had to go through the thick serene forest. Where the forest stopped and where the cliff began was where he first met Sage. He had been practicing his archery and trying to see exactly how far his arrows flew before crashing into the restless sea below him. Sage came back often and both alternated where they would spar each day. That's when they found Cye hopping from rock to rock trying to get to the tiny cove that held all his fishy friends. Everyone seemed to be drawn to this place. Mia's summer house was soon built a mile or two down the road. But this was 'his' place because that's where he went to clear his mind and senses. Just as Sage went to the forest, Ryo to the volcano, and so on.   
Sitting down on the lush green grass, Rowen closed his eyes and breathed in the cooling air. Taking deep breaths, holding them, and slowly letting them out slowly led Rowen into a meditating state. His mind wandered everywhere. Mia was dragging Cye onto the dance floor, Yuli and White Blaze were watching a movie, while Kento, Sage, and Ryo sat trying to comprehend the cooking instructions on the back of a weird instant dinner. His mind seemed to shift as he suddenly saw Usagi standing on her tiptoes to kiss a much older looking man. Rowen shuddered. 'That's enough of that!' he thought quickly. 'That guy didn't even look interested until Usagi kissed him. Wonder who he is...' Searching for something new to watch, Rowen stumbled across Makoto upset face. 'What's this?' he asked himself, thoroughly intrigued.   
A man about Makoto's age held her wrist tightly. He leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words before letting his lips brush her neck as he pulled back. Makoto had been struggling until he whispered to her.   
Rowen frowned. The visions didn't have sound so it was like watching a silent movie with out subtitles. He strained his eyes harder to try and read their lips.   
"...babe! ...love you... go ...your place. No... disturb us... Before... joke... didn't mean... hurt... want you back." That was all Rowen could read from the guy's lips. Makoto gathered enough strength to turn and look him in the eyes. Getting used to lip reading Rowen could catch a lot more this time.   
"Didn't mean to? Didn't mean to?!" Rowen watched her cry. She ripped her arm from his hold. "You... killed Ken!" Rowen's eyes would've bulged had he been in his physical body. This guy wasn't any good, but he certainly didn't seem like a killer!   
"But I he's fine now, babe!"   
Rowen guessed the word he missed must've been nearly or almost.   
The man grabbed Makoto's arms roughly and kissed her. Letting go he said, "Think about it, babe." before turning around and running off. Makoto spit at his back.   
"I already thought about it you asshole!" she screamed before turning and running the other direction.   
Rowen gasped for air as he braced himself for the effects of meditating too long. The ground seemed to spin and tip at odd angles, while he felt like he hadn't enough air in his lungs. Closing his eyes, Rowen lowered his back to the ground.   
'Who was that guy?' Rowen asked, making the most of his time. He seemed like a normal guy. He wore black jeans and a shirt not unlike the one Rowen had on now, but there was some thing artificial about the man. Something extremely misleading and uncomforting. The worst part is Rowen couldn't understand what was so bad about the guy. 

* * * * * 

"Master, I have found unidentifiable powers. They're are unlike anything we have encountered before, and it was hard to determine what they were. I started to scout perimeters like you sent us to do, but whenever I neared the source of power, which turns out to be a human, they some how sensed me," the servant rambled aimlessly.   
"Get to the point!" the one called 'Master' barked.   
"To spy on them you have to play with their emotions and become one of them." 

* * * * * 

With shaky hands Makoto opened the door to her apartment. The whole ordeal was outrageous and... painful... extremely painful on her part. Freddie came back, after all these years, he came back and asked her to lead him back to her place or to a hotel room where they could kiss and make up. And he had meant it literally.   
Walking towards her bed, she paused at the phone. Her hand hovered over it a few moments before she turned and flopped down on her bed. This wasn't important enough to call Ken about. He'd probably make a big fuss, and try to come over to make sure she was all right. Three calls came after Makoto fell asleep. The messages were recorded as follows: _ Beep: Hey Mako-chan it's us! Where the heck are you? We just got out of the movies, and you never showed! It you don't call Usagi by tomorrow-- What? Hey! How come everyone has to call me?!?!-- we'll be by to see if you're ok. Bye!_

_ Beep: Um hey Mako-chan, it's Ken. Are you all right? I have a bad feeling that something's wrong. Call me when you have the time._

_ Beep: Hey babe! Let's go some place tomorrow. 9:00's all right with me, so I'll just stop by to pick you up. Love ya._

* * * * *

_The hair on the back of Makoto's neck stood up as mist and fog swirled into view._   
_ "Oh no... Not now," she whispered to herself._   
_ "Nice to see you too," Rowen said from behind her. Makoto whirled around to see Rowen standing with the mist at his ankles. It was only then that she felt the petticoats of her princess dress. Rowen raised an eyebrow at the the sight of it._   
_ The elegant dress, that became known as her princess dress, was a deep forest green satin that came up to her neck and was secured with a choker-like accessory. It had no sleeves so long ivory gloves came a little above her elbows. The layered petticoats forced the skirt to be a bit puffier than necessary, but not enough to make her look like Little Bo Peep. A small train laced with diamonds followed, and for the first time she realized that her hair was done up in banana curls, held by a tiara._   
_ She was _really_ beginning to hate this place. Closing her eyes, Makoto changed her outfit to a pair of well worn jeans and an over sized sweater. Her hair was held in a ponytail by the usual beaded scrunchie. Rowen blinked at the change, but didn't comment. Instead he changed the subject._   
_ "So who was that guy you were with?" Rowen asked. 'Might as well clear my conscious while I'm here,' he thought as he sat down on the floor._   
_ "W-what guy?" Makoto asked trying to get out of it. "I'm really tired, and I don't want to be here. So could you not ask any more questions?"_   
_ Rowen raised an eyebrow. How was he supposed to get smarter with out the answers to everything?_   
_ "Why don't you like him?"_   
_ "Stop it, Rowen..."_   
_ "What'd he do to Ken?"_   
_ "Shut up... Please..." her pleas come out in nothing more than a whisper, so Rowen kept rattling off questions. The more questions that fell out of his mouth, the more painful memories of the motorcycle accident, Ken, the break up and how the whole relationship was a joke. He wasn't even looking towards her any more because if he was, he would've seen her sink to the floor. Tears gathered in her eyes slowly at first, but they came faster as more memories appeared. Using the fury and slow growing hatred for Freddie, Makoto pushed herself up and walked slowly to Rowen. Towering over his chattering form, Makoto positioned herself low enough to backhand* him with the rest of her remaining energy._   
_ It was like time froze as Rowen's face jerked to the left with the force. The one thought that rang through his mind as he saw Makoto was, "She's crying... and it's my fault." Tears pricked his own eyes, but whether it was from the physical pain or just seeing Makoto hurt so bad he never determined. The thoughts were so brief, Rowen never remembered them afterwards._   
_ As soon as he could turn his head again, Rowen returned to his normal self._   
_ "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" he yelled as he prepared to tackle her. He stopped himself as he saw her in a crumpled heap on the floor. Not sure of what to do, he rubbed his cheek with a clenched fist and glared at her. Makoto stared back as the tears she had held in spilled down her cheeks and rolled down onto her jeans. Letting go of his glare and dropping his arm, Rowen reached over and gathered Makoto into his lap._   
_ Makoto tiredly leaned her head on his shoulder, now sobbing. After staring at her a few minutes, she calmed down enough for Rowen to speak, "I feel like Santa Clause..." Makoto let out a strangled laugh and sniffled a little bit before leaning close to Rowen's ear._   
_ "I wanna go home Santa," she whispered tiredly. Rowen rolled his eyes playfully._   
_ "I said I feel like Santa not Galinda the good witch*!" Makoto let out another choked laugh, but it seemed clearer this time._   
_ She lifted her head off of Rowen's shoulder when her hand felt weird. "Hey! I'm waking up," she declared as she could see through her hand. Makoto pushed herself up as she started to fade away. Rowen sighed in relief._   
_ "Good. My legs were falling asleep!"_   
_ Makoto glared, "I'm not that heavy!!!"_   
_ "That's what you think!"_   
_ Makoto lunged at him, but by the time she would've reached him, she was gone. Rowen smirked. Teasing her was fun as long as he wasn't attacked._

_* * * * *_

Makoto slowly opened her eyes and blinked to clear her fuzzy vision. As soon as she had, she wished she hadn't. Two bright cerulean eyes watched her.   
"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" she asked irritated.   
"Uh... trying to figure out how I got here?" Rowen answered back innocently.   
In one swift movement, Makoto snatched a pillow from underneath Rowen's head and whapped him with it.   
A strangled "Ack!" came from Rowen as he got up and made a mad dash towards the door. Makoto sprang out of bed and followed him, waving a large and heavy pillow over her head.   
"Rowen Hashiba, you're gonna get!" she yelled as she turned the corner and raced around the kitchen table, still waving the pillow.   
'What if I don't want it?' he asked himself in extremely mild fear as he turned another corner. Seeing that Makoto was only a little further back, quickly he turned, pressed his back against the wall, and stuck his foot out. When Makoto came around the corner, a bewildered look covered her face as the pillow flew out of her hands and she headed towards the floor.   
'What happened?' she asked her self slowly as she looked up. Rowen grinned at Makoto's confused face, and brought her up straight. Makoto glared at him and snatched the pillow up. When the door bell rang, Rowen took off in a mad dash, so he wouldn't get hit.   
"Can't hit me 'cause I'm answering the door!" he called. Makoto's reply came from the kitchen.   
"Wouldn't dream of it, Hashiba," she called back in a huffy tone. "You know I'm kicking you out by the end of the day!"   
"Yah whatever," he shouted as he swung the door open. A timid blonde girl stood in the door way. She stared for a few minutes before going to check the apartment number.   
"Hey guys, Mako's apartment number is 497, right?" she called down the hall.   
"Yes. Did you get lost Minako?" asked a polite voice.   
"No, but a guy answered Mako's door!"   
Silence reigned for a few moments before it was followed by an "Oh...".   
"He's has clothes on if that's what you're wondering!" she called afterwards.   
Suddenly Rowen didn't think the blonde was so timid any more.   
___________________________________________________   
Notes:   
*A slap on the face with the back of your hand. It hurts tons more   
than a normal slap.   
*Wizard of Oz   
___________________________________________________   
Done! And it wasn't that long of a wait. If I keep this up you people   
will be expecting this. ^^() 


End file.
